Scaffold and hoisting mechanism therefor



E. PITOUl SCAFFOLD AND HOISTING MECHANISM THEREFOR.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 6,19I7. 1,366,487, Patented Jan. 25, 1921.

SHEET 3 SHEETS LIA/VENTUR- Qcwe 7:16.

BY W ATTORNEY E. PITOU.

SCAFFOLD AND HO'ISTING MECHANISM THEREFOR.

AFPLiCATI ON FILED JUNE 6. 1917.

Patented Jan. 25, 1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

' 74 I INVENTOI? PlTOU.

SCAFFOLD AND HOISTING MECHANISM THEREFOR.

Patented Jan. 25, 1921.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 6, l9l 7.

3 SHEETS-S E 3.

INVENTOR ATTORNEY rarr ion

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ments in scafiolds and hoisting mechanism therefor, and more particularly such scaffolds intended for use on buildings of about four or live stories, and which are built up from the ground, as distinguished from scafiolding used in skyscrapers or other high buildings-where it is desirable to use suspended scafiolding.

With the old types of built-up scaffolding inuse, much delay is occasioned in increasing the height of the same when required, necessitating interference with the work of the brick layers and other workers, and greatly hampering their work. Such scafolding is furthermore quite expensive, irequiring a great amount of lumber, which aside from its own cost, involves other heavy expenses such, as trucking, handling and storing. I

Whenever the scafiold is to be built to a greater height, the planks and working ma-,

terial, such/as bricks and mortar, benches,

tools wheel-barrows, etc., have to be shifted to other parts of the building. Because of thisgreat inconvenience, building up of the scafiold is never attem ted. until it is absolutely impossible for t e workmen to continuetheir work any further, with theresult that the workers arerequired to work in very inconvenient "positions, and that they have to continually shift theirpositions and.

work 'upon other-sections ofthe wall, allof these disadvantages contributing to a resultant job, whichis neither uniform in appearance, or perfectin structure. 1 sThe constant lossjoftime on the part of the work- 'inen amounts to aconsiderableitem in the aggregate, so thati'the cost of the building is greatly increased.

livery of material to the workmen is both Specification of Letters Patent.-

rom'a safet standpoint, it i notorious that many. acci ents result from these types of scafioldin as a result of the necessity for "constantly sfi Patented Jan. 25, rear.

Application ,filed June 6, 1917. Serial l lo. 173,078.

slow and inefficient, and because of the constant shifting about, the workmen do not always have a sufficient supply to continue their work properly.

it is an object of the present invention therefore,-to provide an improved type of built-up scafiolding, which .will eliminate the faults and disadvantages of the old types of scafiolding above referred to, and will operate with a minimum amount ofinterference with the work, and with a maximum degree of safety, speed and efiiciency. With the present invention the workmen will be allowed to constantly continue their-"work, even during the act of raising the platform. They'may always work bench high, which as is well known, is the most efficlent working position, both for the health of the workmen, the amount of work done, and perfection in workmanship. To this end, I propose to provide a scaffolding hoisting mechanism which will support the platform upon uprights, and may be operated to climb the uprights, drawing the scaffolding along therewith. As the platform is raised along the uprights, the". uprights below the platform may bereinforced by braces, comparatively few or t therefore much" saving in lumber will be efiected.

' A further object is'ito provide such a mechanism as will conveniently operate over splices, and with; wh ch the mechanisms upon each upright willbecooperatively connected in such manner as to permit of the support of any portion of a platform by the remaining portionsshould any particular mechanism become so' damaged as to prevent its: proper working. I also propose to provide such mechanism as may be operated by one workmamtwithrelatively little effort, and'in.suchmanner as to in no way disturb or interferewith the other work, and without the necessity of removing any parts.

further object is to provide a spacing means that will maintain the uprights in .tliieir proper relation despite the great amount of weight suspended therebetween, which would ordinarily tend to collapse or bend the uprights. A further object is to provide flexibility in the hoisting mechanism so thatgany one hoistin mechanism may be operated properly, whlle the others are at rest, the platformbeing literally suspended between the uprights.

ese being required, and

With my improved scafiolding, the work;

men may continue their work with the greatest amount of efliciency and satisfaction, in

that they are not in any way interfered with durin the raising of the platform, and as the platform may-be raised with convenience at frequent intervals, the workmen may always continue their work in the proper position. .As they may always work at one location on the wall, no time is lost in being shifted to another section, and the work will possess a uniformity which could not be obtained under. the old methods. Cheaper delivery of bricks, mortar and other working material to the workmen may be effected as the material may be directly delivered from the hoist to the platform at any level without delay, and may be wheeled along the platform directly to the workmen, so that the workmen may always have a sufficient supply of material to work with.

lhe improved scaffold results in much' which will be automatically lifted along with the platform.

With these and other objects in view, embodiments of my invention are shown in the accompanying drawings, and these embodiments will be hereinafter more fully described with reference to the drawings, and the invention will be finally pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings; Figure 1 is a side elevation of one of the hoisting mechanisms employed in my improved scaffolding;

' Fig. 2 is a front view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a section-plan view along the line 33 of Fig. 1; 0

Figs. 4:, 5 and 6 are similar views respectively, along the lines 1-4, 55 and 6-6 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is a'detail of the ratchet lev er employed in operating the: hoisting mechae msm; 1

Figs. 8 and 9 are side views showing the manner in which the hoisting device is moved over the splices in-the uprights Figs-10 and 11 are side and front views respectively of a modified form of spacer I support; v D

Flg. 12 shows 1n horizontal section the Lace-as? manner in which the hoisting mechanism may be attached to an upright of greater dimension;

Figs. 13 and fied form of construction in which the shackles may be adjusted to various sizes of uprights; and

Fig. 15 is a perspective view of a scaffold platform embodying my improvements, and illustrating the manner in which the workmen may continue their working uninterrupted during raising of the scaffold, the efficient system of delivery that may be carried out, and the convenience and ease of raising the platform.

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

Referring to the drawings, and more particularly to Figs. 1 and 2 thereof, the hoisting mechanism employed in my improved 14: show a slightly modiscaffolding, and which is merely shown as one illustrative example of my invention, comprises an elongated rack 20,1whichgil1ay be of any suitable length, preferably about five feet long, and substantially square in cross-section, and provided with rack teeth,

preferably pitched downwardly, as shown.

At the upper end of the rack 20 there is pivotally secured at the side faces thereof by a bolt 21, a shackle comprising side memhere 22 and 23 bent inwardly at their forward end into engagement with the side of the rack, the bolt 21 passing through these inwardly bent portions and being secured in place by means of a cotter-pin 24, or other suitable means. 23 extend at each e of the upright 25, and are bonnected at the rear of the upright by a bolt 26' passing through oppositely disposedxopenings 27, the .said bolt being secured at its ends by means of nuts 28, and being provided preferably between the side members with a sleeve 2'9' which engages the surface of-the upright. Additional holes 30 relation to the holes-27, to'ipermit of the attachment ofithe shackles to an upright of 4 in. Intermediate the'forwa'rd face of the upright and the rackthere is provided an au-- tomatic wedge or cammechamsm compris- 1ng d'vcam or wedge member 31 mounted upon the squared portion 32 of a shaft 33,

extending through openings in the side members 22 and 23. lhe operating face of the wedge member is' eccentric to the shaft 33, A

being of increasing radius toward the lower extremity thereof, and is provided with a plurality of studs or projections 34: adapted to bite into the upright.

Washers 35 and 36 are provided at each side of the wedge on the shaft 33, and at ide members 22 and are provided in the side members in spaced one end of said shaft there is provided a nut 37 for securing the same in place. At the other end there is provided a weighted handle 0r counter-lever 38 which automatically maintains the wedge in engagement with the upright. It will be seen that any weight directed downwardly upon the rack will cause the wedge member to increasingly bite into the upright and thereby increase the.

supporting effect of the shackle. An upward movement of the rack, however, rel'easesthe wedge from its-biting efiect upon the upright, and permits the scaffold to climb.

The side members of the shackle are maintained in horizontal position by means ofwith the upright during its upward movement, and permits of a slight yielding when the weight of the scaffold is supported thereon, and the wedge bites into the wooden upright.

An upstanding support formed of a pair of strips 48 and 44, riveted together, and

twisted centrally as at 45 so that its upper and lower portions are at right angles to each other, is bent outwardly into an inverted U-shape atthe lower end and secured over theupper end of the rack 20 bysorews 46. The upper end of the'support is formed into a U-shaped pocket 47 backed by a plate 48, or other suitable means may be employed, and a bracket is formed thereon, comprising two arms 49 and 50, be-

tween which is rotatably supported upon a shaft .51 a roller 52, which engages the upright. The respective ends of a beam 53 are dropped into the pockets 47 of the adjacent hoisting mechanisms, as, clearly indicated in Fig. 15, and tle beam constitutes a spacer to prevent my bepding of theuprights due to the strain of supporting the scaffold. This spacer, as hereinafter more fully pointed out, moves upwardly with the hoisting mechanism, and continually performs its function of spacing the uprights. Planking 53 canvas or other suitable covering may be supported upon the spacing beams to form an overhead protec tion. I 1 At the lower end .of the rack there is piv- I otally secured by abolt 54, the upper forked end 55 of a stirrup member 56, preferably formed of two strips of metal riveted together, and at its lower portion bent outwardly and downwardly into two hooks 57 the and58 in which the ends ofthe'putlogs 59 I are placed. The stirrup is braced and held against bending by a cross piece 60, secured at its ends to the lower portion of the hooks 57 and 58. The platform planking 61 is supported upon the putlogs, and the end. pleces may be cut out as at 62 to' embrace the stirrup. A foot-board 63 (Fig. 8) may be dropped behind the stirrup upon the 'putlogs and a railing may be providediri anysuitable manner. The rack and" stirrup are maintained at the proper distance from the upright by a roller 64, supported upon a shaft 65 provided between two bracket arms 66 and 67, pivptally supported upon the bolt 0 54, and held place by nuts 68 provided on the ends oa -the bolt. The flexibility provided by the pivotal connection between the rack and the stirrup, enables the hoisting mechanism to be operated at one side of the scaffold without operatingit at the other side, so that the putlogs may assume an angle other than to the rack.

A bolt 69, screw threaded at one end, and provided with an eye 7 O at the other, is 90 mounted in a passage 71 formed in the stirrup by spreading the strips as at 72, and is held in place by a winged nut 7 3. A cable 74 is run through the eye of the bolt and extends along the whole length ofthe scaffold. This forms a safety suspension means for supporting any machine which may 'become out of order, between the adjacent machines. lt will be understood that the bolt may be secured in any suitable manner, as

for instance by providing a separate bearing plate attached to the stirrup.

. The means for raising the rackand the platform therewith, consists of a slidable box member7 5, disposed upon the rack,-eX- tending entirely about the rack at its upper end, and open at its forward portion, exposing theteeth of the rack. The sides of the member 75 are extended forwardly as at 7 6 and 77, and below the forwardly extending 11 portions, there are provided out-turned portions 78 and'79, the forward faces of which are slightly in advance of the rack teeth. A closure member 80 is securedto "the portions 78 and 79 by means of bolts and nuts 81, and

extends across the rack,forming with the upper closed end of the box, lower and upper guides for the rack.

The end portions of the member 80 are bent rearwardly, as at 82 and 83, and form brackets for a lower supporting shackle,

comprising side members 84 and 85, pivotally mounted on said end portions by a bolt 86 provided with nuts 87 at its ends for holding thesame in place. A spacing sleeve 86 is disposedon the bolt between the said side members. g "Th side members 84 and 85 are supported in downwardly inclinedv position'from the I upright 25 by means of lugs 88 provided on the inner side of the brackets 82 and 83 at the lower edge thereof, and inwardly of the bolt 86. Thus the members 84 and 85 may be swung upwardly when desired. Addi' tional lugs 89 are provided at the outer side, at the upper edge of the brackets 82 and 83,

and outwardly of the bolt 86, and operate similarly to the lugs 88, when the side members are supported on the outer side of the brackets, as illustrated in Fig. 12, when the device is used with an upright of greater width. These outside lugs may, if desired,

' of a shaft 97, extending through openings.

and spaces the side members apart.

7 ing provided at each side of the wedge.

cotter pin 100 is provided at one end ofthe be in the same position as the lugs 88, but on the outer side of the brackets.

The members 84 and 85 extend at each side of the upright, and are connected at the rear in a similar manner to the upper shackle, by means of a bolt 90 passing through oppositely disposed openings 91, and secured at its ends by nuts 92. A- sleeve 93 is provided upon the bolt between the in the side members, washers98 and 99 beshaft for securing the same in place, and the other end isbent forwardly as at 101, to form a weighted handle or counter lever,

which automatically maintains the wedge in engagement with the upright. The shackle, it will be seen, is permitted to move upwardly freely, but downward movement is prevented by engagement of the wedge with the upright. By throwing the handle upwardly the wedge will be disengaged and the shackle may b moved in either direction. .1

The forwardly extending portions 7 6 and 77 of the box member 7 5 are provided re spectively with a pair of slots 102, one above the other and inclined downward and inwardlytoward the rack. Ablock 103 pro vided atits inner face with teeth 104, oppositely disposed to the teeth of the rack, and adapted to fit therein is reciprocatingly mounted between the portions 76 and 77 by means of pairs of pins or lugs .105, provided on the sides of the block and engaging the inclined slots 102. A handle 106 is provided on the outer sideof the block which permits of the same being lifted out of en-- gagement with the rack. The block 103 and box -7 5 'formthe supporting connection between the shackle and the rack, preventing any downward movement thereof. Upward 1,see,es7

movement of the rack is permitted, however, the block being forced upwardly in the inclined slots, falling back into supporting engagement whenever movement of the rack stops; A ratchet toothed pinion 107 is journaled between the side portions 76 and 77, so that its teeth engage theteeth of the rack, the shaft 108 of the pinion being secured at one end by a cotter pin 109, the other projecting .end being provided with a squared portion 110, which may he engaged by a ratchet handle 111 (Figs.f7 and 8) to turn the same and'thereby raise the rack.

A. projecting portion 1120f the block 103 in the rest position of the machine, engages between the? uppermost teeth of the pinion, as clearlymdicated in Fig; 1. This serves to lock the pinion against turning clockwise, increasing the support of the rack until the rack is moved upwardly by rotation of the pinion in anticlockwise directionunder the action of the handle 1l1,"which causes the block to be moved out of engagement with the rack. As. the rack is raised, lifting the platform, the rollers 52 and 64 move along the upright, the former spacing theuprights apart, and the latter spacing the rack from the uprights. The cam wedge 31 is released from the upright and the upper shackle moves freely upwardly, the whole support of the scaffold during this upward movement being on the lower shackle. The platform has a certain amount of play wlth respect to the rack, and is actuallysuspended between the uprights from the bolts 54. By reason of this fact, and the slidable relation of the cable with the eyelet, one'machlne may be operated at a time.

In Figs. 8 and 9, I have illustrated the manner in which the machine may be operated across splices in the uprights, These splices generally comprise a pair of boards 113 and 114 nailed across the adjacent ends of two uprights, and engaging the back and one side face thereof.

The bolt 26 is removed from the upper shackle, and the side members 22 and 23 are swung upwardly into substantially vertical position. L The rack isthen raised until the upper shackle is a considerable distance above the splices, and is then again secured to the upright in supporting position'so that the platform may be supported therefrom. The lower shackle is then released from the upright and swung upwardly, and by depressing the ratchet handle 111, the rack is raised sufficiently to permitmoving the block 103 out of engagement with the rack, and thebox and shackle are manually raised to the upper end of the rack, above the splice, when the shackle is again secured in sup-- porting position, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 9, whereupon the machine may again.

be operated to raise the platform. As shown in dotted lines in Fig. 9, the shackle may with the proper adjustment, be swu'ng down-- wardly.

To normally raise the box. and lower shackle to the upper endof the rack after the platform has been raised a distance cor responding to the length of the rack, it is only necessary to free the cam wedge by throwing up the weighted handle, and disengage the block 103 from the rack afterthe latter has been raised by slightly depressing the'ratchet handle 111. f

and may be conveniently folded down upon.

the rack, so that the whole device may be more easily conveyed, and will occupy less space when stored. The'stirrup may be folded in a similar manner.

- ln lii ;s. 13 and 1 1, l have shown a slightly modifie form of shackle, which may be. adjusted to fit uprights of difierent sizes. ln

this construction the brackets 118 and 119.

of the box member are further spaced apart than in'the first desc'ribedform, and the lugs 120 are oi greater length. The side members 121 and 122 are pivotally supported upon a bolt 123, held in place by nuts 12 1 and 125, and upon the bolt there are provided sleeves 126, 127 and 128, the intermediate sleeve 127 being relatively longer than the end sleeves 126 and 128. Whema largeupright isused, as for instance a 6 in. by 6 in., all of the sleeves are placedbetween the side members, as shown in Fig. 13, and the bolt 90 is placed through the holes 94 of the side members. Should a smaller upright be used, as for instance a a in. by 4 in. (Fig. 1d), the sleeves 126 and 128' are placed'at the outer side or the side members, the elongated lugs 120 still serving to support the side members,

and prevent downward movement thereof,

and the bolt 90 is placed through'the holes 91. For a .6 in. by a in. upright, it is obvious that in both forms of the device illustrated, it is only necessary to place the bolt 90. in the holes 9 1.

. With my improvements, a very reliable type of scadold is provided, which is in 'eii ect a suspended built-up scafiold. llt will be understood, however, that the improvements may be used as an entirely suspended scatfold, by suitably supporting the uprights from overhead outrigger-s, and if desired the same may be in the form of cables or rods. In this case the J cam wedges may be made supports, uppershackles movable on said of a non-metallic, or other suitable material. The machines may be operated conveniently by one workman without in any way .disturbing the other workmen on the platform. The workmen are always permitted to work at the proper height and continuously, so thatniore work ofa better quality will result.

As clearly shown in Fig. 15, the material may be delivered directly to the workmen from't'he hoist, in sufiicient quantitiesto keep them well supplied, and any suitable form of hoist may be placed on the end or side of the scadold.

I have illustrated preferred and satisfactory forms of my invention, butv it is obvious that changes may be made therein within thespirit and scope thereof, as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a scaffold, a plurality of pairs of supports, upper and lowerautomatic holding members, elongated members connecting said automatic holding members, upper and lower spacing members between said elongated members and said supports, a platform between said supports, and suspension ineansyieldingly connecting opposite sides of said platform with said automatic holding members and permitting under such connection individual action of said automatic holding members and the lifting of one sideindependent or the other side.

2. ln a scaffold, supports, upper shackles movable on said supports and provided with automatic clutches engaging said supports, lower shackles provided with automatic clutches engagingsaid supports, rack bars pivotally connected with said shackles, spacers on said rack bars and engagin said supports, boxes 'mounted on said ower shackles through which said rack bars slide, means carried by said boxes for engaging and disengaging them from said rack bars, a

latitorm and" sus ension means iiexibl con- U0 9 P nesting said plattorm at opposite sides with said rack bars and permitting play therebetween. 7

3. lln a scaffold, a plurality of pairs of supports and provided with automatic cams. engaging therewith, lower shackles movable on said supports and provided ,with cams engaging therewith, guides having pivotal connection with said lower shackles, rack bars slidable in said guides andhaving pivotal connections with said upper shackles, spacers disposed respectively above and below said shackles and operative to hold said rack bars alooi from and substantially par- 1 allel with said supports, independent rack lifting mechanisms carried by said guides, a platform, and 3 suspension means connecting said platform at opposite sides thereof with said rack bars and permitting play therebetween, whereby said lifting mechanisms may be individually operated and one side of said platform may be raised independently of the other side.

" on said uprights, adapted to assume inclined positions with respect thereto and provided with cams engaging therewith, guides having pivotal connections with said lower I shackles,: rack bars slidable in said guides v upr ghts engaging and having pivotal connection with said upper shackles, spacers disposed above and below said shackles and operative to hold said rack bars aloof from and parallel with said uprights, ,rack lifting mechanisms carried by said connected with said rack bars.

5. In a scaffold, a plurality of pairs of uprights, upper shackles movable on said and provided with automatic cams therewith, lower shackles movable on said uprights, adapted to assume inclined positions with respect thereto and provided with cams engaging therewith, guides hav' ing pivotal connections 'with' said lower shackles, rack bars'slidable in said guides and having pivotal connection with said upguides, and a platform yieldinglymemes? per shackles, spacers disposed above and below sald shackles and operative to hold said rack bars aloof from and parallel with said uprights, rack lifting mechanismscarried by said guides, means for holding said upper shackles in horizontal position, and a platform yieldingly connected with said rack bars.

6. An improved hoisting device comprising an elongated member, clutch members and a supporting member pivotally con nected at the other end of said elongated member, said stirrup and supporting member adapted to be folded upon said elongated member when not in use.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my invention, l have signed my name in,

presence of two subscribin witnesses.

' anemia riron.

Witnesses D, LEWIS MATTERN, Mon Wnrrmnne. 

